“Oh dear, Brianne, you’re pregnant? No one told me.” Mrs Johnson says as soon as I walk out of the backroom and I sigh, really not looking forward to this. I mean, why would anyone tell her? Hell, I didn’t tell my brother, he found out the same way she did, by taking one look at my massive bump. “You poor thing, I heard what that punk did to you and with that hussy Shyanne to boot. They have no shame whatsoever. She’s just as bad as he is, she knew he was taken. Hussy!”
“And all while she’s with child. He should be disgusted with himself. Back in my day, men were respectful and loyal, and women knew their place. None of this hussyness.” Oh great, Mrs Clarkson is now getting involved.
“I don’t blame you one bit for leaving dearie; if I were you, I would have kicked him where the sun doesn’t shine.” Shit, she walks closer to me, and all I can do is stare at the coarse hairs attached to her top lip.
“Why don’t you take a seat Mrs Clarkson, Olivia will be with you soon.” She smiles at me and walks toward the seats, thankfully Olivia walks out, and I see that she has composed herself. “And if you’d like to follow me Mrs Johnson and we’ll get started. Same as usual?”
“Of course, I’ve been dying to have my hair done properly. You’re the only one in this city that can actually do it the way I want it.” I bring her to the wash basin and wash her hair and give her a head massage, thankfully, she doesn’t talk while I do her hair as she wants me to concentrate.
I’m doing Mrs Clarkson’s hair, and Mrs Johnson is now in a good mood as I’ve done her hair correctly and now she will be able to show her face in public. So, she is currently with Livie and is letting us know the gossip we’ve missed.
“That Ethan punk has started dating that hussy Shyanne, you’d think they’d be ashamed of what they’ve done to you. The thing flaunting herself around acting as if she isn’t a homewrecker…. Oh look, here comes another hussy...Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a convention around here?” I turn around, trying not to laugh and to see who the hell Mrs Johnson talking about, oh God, it’s Sabrina, not what I need right now.
The bell above the door goes as she walks in and I completely ignore her as I go back to cutting Mrs Clarkson’s hair. Livie is on hand to see what the hell she wants. “Can I help you?” Livie’s tone is downright unfriendly, Sabrina never comes here, she thinks she’s better than us like we care. I’d rather not have her as a customer, thank you very much.
“Yes, do you have availability?” she asks in a sugar sweet tone that grates on my nerves.
“For when?” God, can Livie at least pretend that she’s nice?
“Now?” She’s got a lot of sass, and it’s just going to piss Livie off even more than she already is.
“Sure, you’ll have me though as Bri is booked right through. If you take a seat and I’ll just finish up with Mrs Johnson.” Now Livie puts on her fake happy voice, and as I look into the mirror I see that Mrs Clarkson is smiling, she loves the drama. This will be around town before lunch.
“That’s fine, thanks.”
“You know what Mrs Johnson, I think you were right about that convention. They just seem to spring up out of nowhere.” Livie says as she gets back to work on Mrs Johnson’s nails. They only ever come in for a file and polish, I think they actually just come for the company.
“Yes dear, you’re right. They’re everywhere, no morals or standards whatsoever.” Mrs Johnson replies, and she loves this, all the drama. Sabrina hasn’t noticed me, thankfully as I’m behind the pillar that’s attached to the reception desk, that is in the middle of the room. It’s a partition that separates where we cut the hair to everything else.
“Who is your next appointment, Brianne?” Geez, they’re so damn nosey. “I hope it’s not another one of those hussies.” Mrs Clarkson says and my face flames, I can feel the heat rising and hear Livie giggling.
“No, Mrs Clarkson, my next appointment is my mom. She needs her roots done.”
“That she does Brianne. I saw her only yesterday, and she was looking all flustered. Bless her little heart, is she all excited about the new arrival?” Mrs Johnson asks, and the nosey old coot was listening to mine and Mrs Clarkson’s conversation.
“Yeah, she’s excited.” I switch on the blow dryer and start drying her hair, effectively blocking out the question that Mrs Johnson was going to ask.
Just as I switch of the blow dryer, Livie walks over to the cutting stations with Sabrina in tow. I act like I haven’t seen her and ignore the gasp she lets out, no doubt seeing my bump. I give Mrs Clarkson’s hair another brush just to make sure it’s fully dry, and I hear the bell above the door sound again and hear my mother “Bri, honey. I’m here. I’ll sit with Mrs Johnson until you’re ready.” God, that’s a recipe for disaster.
“Is that okay with you Mrs Clarkson?” I show her, her hair with the mirror in my hands, and she has a big smile on her face as she nods. “Great, I’ll grab your jackets for you. Take your time, and I’ll meet you at the reception desk.” She’s a bit slow at moving, and I don’t want her to feel as though she’s being rushed, it’s only my mom that’s my next appointment.
I help both ladies put on their jackets, and Mrs Johnson turns to my mom, “Claire, you have raised a wonderful daughter. I love coming here; she treats me like I’m a queen. I know that she’s going to make a wonderful mom.” Oh wow, coming from her it’s one of the best compliments I’ll ever receive.
“I’m so glad to have her home. Her father and I have missed her terribly. I’m proud of her, she is a wonderful young woman, and I like to think that it’s down to her father and me. But either way, we did something right, she’s an amazing lady.” Tears spring to my eyes and I walk over to mom to give her a hug. The feel of her hands around me feel so good, and there’s nothing better than the hug from your mother.
“That you have, my dear, that you have. Bri, I’ll knit the baby something, have you found out what you're having yet?” Mrs Johnson asks, and I don’t get a chance to answer, as Livie gets there ahead of me.
“Babies, she’s having babies and their Satan’s, FYI.”
“Babies? Oh Bri, you’re having twins. That’s wonderful; I’ll knit them something, I’ll make it white. I hate to love you and leave you, but bingo starts in an hour, and I want to make sure that I get the front table. I don't want that Gloria Holdsworth flirting with my Donald again.” She practically drags poor Mrs Clarkson out of the salon.
“That woman, such a character.” My mom says as she shakes her head.
I sit mom down beside Sabrina, and see that Livie has started to trim her hair, “So, what we discussed yesterday?” I lift mom’s hair and feel the weight of it; it feels healthy and strong.
“Yes, please Bri. Hello Sabrina, how are you?” Does she have to talk to the hussy? Damn, those old coots have me thinking like them.
“I’m good, thank you, Mrs Bentley. How are you?” She has that saccharine smile plastered on her face.
“I’m very well thank you.” Thankfully Mom can see straight through her bullshit.
It doesn’t take me long to mix the color, and I walk back out just in time to hear Sabrina ask about the babies. “I heard Olivia say that Brianne is having twins, that is wonderful. Is Brianne getting back with Ethan? If she does, we should double date.” Her voice really does grate on me, and I’d love nothing more than to wipe that stupid smile off her face.
“Oh, who are you dating?” The disbelief in my mom’s voice is obvious, and I watch as the smile slips from Sabrina’s face. I hear the bell above the door go, but I don’t say anything as Sabrina answers my mom’s question.
“Oh, Jaxon and I are dating, and we have been for a while now. He’s an amazing man.” I see mom’s eyes narrow through the mirror as all the color drains from my face. I was right, Jaxon and her are dating.
“What the hell?” I hear Sabrina shriek and look over and see that Livie has taken a chunk out of her hair. She’s taken at least five inches off Sabrina�
��s hair, taking her luscious long locks and turning it into a chin length bob.
“I’m sorry, but you moved while I was cutting,” Livie tells her, but I can tell that she’s lying. She cut her hair on purpose.
“You bitch. What am I supposed to do?” Sabrina really needs to learn not to screech, my poor eardrums are about to burst.
“Oh, Sabrina. It was an accident. Livie’s a wonderful hairdresser; she’ll fix it and make you look gorgeous.” My mother’s talking out of her ass, Sabrina’s hair is going to be hideous. “Tell me how you and Jaxon got together.”
“Well, we had one night together, it was amazing. That man sure knows what he’s doing with his tongue.” She says, and I feel dirty, I feel as though I want to be sick.
“You lying bitch! We are not together. We slept together three times. How dare you say those things?” We all turn and see Jaxon standing there his face red with anger and his knuckles white from trying to strangle the bouquet of flowers in his hand. Sabrina’s face is pale as her lies have been exposed.
Well, things are about to get interesting.
Chapter Seven
Jaxon
I’ve decided that my first move of operation get my woman will be trying to woo her, starting with asking her to dinner at my place tonight and then giving her, her favorite flowers.
I come to a stop and kill the car engine in front of Livianne’s Beauty Parlor, which is Bri and Olivia’s salon. I take a deep breath in preparation for asking Brianne out on a date in front of all the people who might be in there. Normally, I’m never nervous when it comes to asking a woman out but Brianne? Man, that woman is an enigma, she has the power to get me nervous and tongue-tied sometimes. Why or how my smooth moves and charm fly out the window the minute, she gets close to me? I’ll never fucking know.
I grab the bouquet of white and pink Lilies from the passenger seat and climb out the car, then walk toward the glass doors of the salon, ready to do this. I push the door open, and the little bell at the top of the door pronounces my arrival but no one looks back to check who it is as Mrs Bentley, Bri, Olivia and to my absolute fucking horror, Sabrina is in what looks like a heated conversation. I can see the reflections of everyone in the mirror, and everyone except Sabrina is kind of scowling.
“Oh, Jaxon and I are dating, and we have been for a while now. He’s an amazing man.” Sabrina says, a sly smile playing on those lying lips of hers. What the hell? I fuck the woman a few times, and she decides to fucking tell the world that we’re dating? I start to clench my fist tighter around the flowers in my hand as anger surfaces. Sabrina is going to ruin everything!
Olivia cuts a chunk out of the bitch’s hair, and her shriek brings a slight smile to my face, but then that smile vanishes after the commotion of lost hair when Sabrina goes on to tell them about our night together and how I know what to do with my tongue. And she’s talking all this shit in front of Bri’s mom.
“You lying bitch! We are not together. We slept together three times. How dare you say those things?” I say when I can’t keep quiet and keep my rage in any longer. What the hell is this bitch’s problem? I made it clear to her on more than one occasion that we are not dating. Doesn’t she understand or is she just fucking stupid, my money is on the latter.
All eyes turn to look at me, and I watch as Sabrina pales.
“Jaxon,” she says, the sound of my name on her lips just pissing me off even more.
“How many times do I need to tell you that we. Are. Not. Fucking. Dating?” I ask through gritted teeth, and the witch bitch has the decency to fucking blush.
There is only one way to show this woman that I’m not interested in her in that way. Maybe if I do this, she will get it in her thick skull. Let's just hope I don’t get a slap in the process.
I loosen my grip on the flowers and smile at Brianne who’s looking between me and Sabrina; I’m not sure if she’s amused, disgusted or irritated at this point.
“Hey Bri,” I say, giving her the flowers that I almost ruined with my death grip before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“What?!” Sabrina shrieks again. Damn this woman is loud! “You can’t seriously want her of all people Jaxon; she’s pregnant with another man’s children!”
Another shriek slips through Sabrina’s lips. “Oops, you really should stop moving so much,” Olivia says with a grin as another chunk of hair falls to the ground.
“You fucking stupid bitch! You did that on purpose!”
“No, I didn’t,” Olivia replies with an eye roll. Snip, another chunk falls, and Sabrina’s eyes fill with tears. “Now that was on purpose.” We all burst into a fit of laughter as Sabrina stands, practically ripping the styling cape off as she bolts out of the salon with tears streaming down her face.
Classic!
“That was way too much fun, that bitch had that coming,” Olivia says as our laughter dies down.
“So, why are you here, need a trim?” Olivia asks, as she goes and grabs the broom.
“Thanks for these,” Bri says before I can answer Olivia. She immediately pales when she takes a big whiff of the flowers I gave her.
“Brianne?” I start getting worried when she starts gagging. Shit, what the hell is going on?
“Excuse me!” She says before throwing the flowers in her mother’s lap bolting toward the back.
“Bri, what’s wrong?!” I rush behind her; I hesitate when she runs into the bathroom. Damn, should I follow her in? My feet start moving again when I hear heaving from inside the bathroom. Fuck, is she throwing up?
“Bri?” I say panicked when I find her on all fours in front of the toilet, expelling the contents of her stomach.
“God-” she heaves. “I don’t want you to see me like this,” she says as I pull her hair back, fisting it at the back of her head. I don’t answer her because I want to be here for her through everything.
“You okay?” I ask when the heaving finally stops, and I help her to her feet.
“I’m so sorry,” she says as her face turns a bright shade of red. “I don’t know what happened, one smell of those flowers and the nausea came out of nowhere.
“The flowers?” I ask, feeling bad because this means that this was all my fault. But I thought she loved Lilies. “But Lilies are your favorite flowers.”
“They are,” she says as she walks over to the basin then turns the tap and scoops the water in her hand before drinking it and rinsing her mouth. “But I guess these two don’t like them as much as I do,” she rubs her massive bump when she’s done wiping her mouth with the towel she grabbed from the towel rack.
“I’m sorry Bri, I didn’t know,” I say as I rub the back of my neck.
“Don’t worry about it, neither did I.” She says as she motions for me to follow her out of the bathroom.
“You okay honey?” Her mom asks with worry filled eyes when we re-join her and Olivia.
“Yeah, I guess this means I should stay away from Lilies now huh?” she answers as a sad laugh slips from her lips.
“You see, I told you those are little Sa-”
“Livie, stop calling them that!” Bri cuts her friend off.
“Fine,” Oliva sighs as she looks at me. “So, you were saying why are you here again?” she directs the questions at me.
Right, about that; “Well I’m here to ask this beauty out for dinner tonight at my place,” I smile at Bri who’s eyes widen.
“Huh?” she says, her enchanting green eyes filled with uncertainty. “I’m not sure-”
“Okay, she’ll be there. What time?” Olivia says, cutting Brianne off with a grin on her face. Damn, was Bri going to turn me down?
“Around seven?” I answer, looking at her with thankful eyes. I need all the help I can get with operation get my woman. And I just realized that if it wasn’t for Liv, Brianne wouldn’t give tonight a chance.
“Make that eight. I’ll come drop her off.”
“Bu
t I-”
“And I think she should spend the night there, it would be so much easier then you don’t have to drive around late at night with a pregnant woman,” Olivia says with a wide grin as she cuts Bri off again.
“What? But I-”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Olivia; I’ll make some apple pie for you kids for dessert!” Mrs Bentley says excitedly, also cutting what it is Bri was going to say off.
“Thanks, Liv, Mrs B!” I say with a wide grin. “See you later Bri,” I wink at a wide-eyed Brianne.
With this much support, operation get my woman is going to be a walk in the park!
The past couple of hours have been a nightmare. I’ve burnt three of my new pots - new because all the pots in this house have never been used because I hate cooking, never mind the fact that the only cooking I can do is boiling water.
I still have an hour and a half before Bri gets here, so I decided to give this one last try. I grab the steak from the freezer, then a pan before opening the recipe book I bought earlier.
I’m watching the steak cooking with rapt attention when my phone rings. I grab it from the kitchen counter and check the caller ID.
“What’s up man,” I answer as my attention goes back to the pan. I do not want to fuck this up!
“How’s the cooking coming along?” I can hear the laughter in Carson’s voice. He warned me not to attempt cooking, but I didn’t listen. My words to him were ‘It’s cooking, how hard can it be?’ And now, there is no fuckin way I’m telling him he was right.
“It’s coming along fine,” I lie.
“Okay, I cooked some food for your dinner just in case everything goes to hell. Call me if you need it, and I’ll come drop it off,” he says. Yeah, I don’t think he believes that everything is just fine.
“That’s okay man, I’m good,”
“Okay, have fun then,” he says
“Bye,” I end the call then place the phone back on the counter.
One Night Page 5
